It is easy to start up on any new project or program, but often times the goal, or understanding the best way to achieve that goal, gets lost.

Mr. Merrill Goozner from Modern Health Care, in “The 21st Century Cures Act ignores value”, discusses how the government may need to rethink how it allocates funding moving forward for certain conditions that really seem to tax (pun intended) our society.

Mr. Goozner presents, as an example, the proposition that what if instead of dumping billions into a drug that could reduce the size of lung tumors, if we invest that same money on cost effective smoking cessation programs for the 20% of our population that still smokes?

These questions are not easy questions, nor do they come with easy answers. However, Goozner is trying to propose that healthcare should be approached in some new and creative ways. It does not mean that we stop creating new drugs and products. However, alongside the traditional routes of medical innovation, maybe there are some news ways to rethink how we move medicine forward.

David Eisenberg is currently a medical student at The Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton, PA, and a contributor to Medical Groups. David believes that it is critically important for physicians to not only be well rounded clinically, but also financially. In an ever changing healthcare system, David hopes to help physicians not only understand how to successfully navigate the dynamic healthcare landscape, but also how to take a leadership role in continuing to develop the medical profession that so many have diligently dedicated their life’s work to. In addition to contributing to Medical Groups, David works with thedoctorschannel.com, as well as helps to run an app for pre-med students that he co-founded, PreMD Tracker.